"I've never told anyone before," Adrien says, breaking the silence between them, "But I'm bisexual."
Chloe stares at him for a moment, then looks away. "Oh."
"You're not as alone as you think."
Around them, the world begins to wake, cars and bikes passing them by in a quick flash of color. Chloe rests her head on Adrien's shoulder. It's quiet between them, but there's a feeling of contentment in her heart that she hasn't felt in a long time. The monster in her mind has quieted down, if only for the moment, and Adrien helps her learn how to laugh again, genuinely, not out of malice, by pointing out the dogs that pass by and reviewing them all as "Good dog! 10/10, would pet forever."
Everything seems brighter; sunlight reflecting off of windows, the colors of people's shirts as they would pass by, Adrien's smile. The pain and heartache from the day before lingered, but it wasn't as bad. No longer was her heart heavy with the weight of a knife, but now it had the ache of a slowly healing bruise.
Chloe missed their friendship so much. She didn't even realize until now.
And to think she tried to destroy this, too.
"Thank you," Chloe mumbles into Adrien's shoulder. "For everything."
He wraps an arm around her shoulder and pulls her into a hug. "Of course. I'll always be here when you need me."
Chloe brings up an arm to properly hug him back. For a long moment, they stay there, basking in the comfort for each other's presence (and also because they were both a little touch-starved, even if they never said it). Then, beneath Chloe's forearm, Adrien's stomach growls loudly.
He laughs, ducking his head away from her gaze and says, "Yeah, I didn't eat before I came out to see you."
"Let's go grab some breakfast then. I haven't eaten either," Chloe replies, pulling away.
"Sounds like a plan!"
Adrien helps her up, then slings an arm around her shoulder. It grounds her, keeps her from drifting off and losing time inside the blank void of disassociation, so Chloe relaxes into the touch and doesn't shrug him off. It's a quiet walk to the nearest cafe, just a street away, but a pleasant one where it feels like nothing between them's changed.
The cafe is one of the smaller ones, hidden between the larger, more extravagant streets of Paris, so it escapes the eyes of tourists and seems to be always covered in a quiet sort of atmosphere. They order at the counter, then find a small table next to a window. Adrien relaxes into the sunlight, draping himself over the tabletop like a cat, turning his face into the light with his eyes closed, basking in the warmth. Chloe snaps a picture on her phone and doodles little white cat ears on whispers on him, along with a bunch of little stars and sparkles, then uploads with a the caption "sleepy kitty spotted in paris cafe".
Almost immediately, the post is getting liked. People comment on how cute Adrien, even when he's not modeling. Sabrina likes it, too. Chloe lays her phone face down on the table and looks out the window, people watching without really seeing them.
"You doing okay?" Adrien asks, turning his face to meet her eyes. She looks away, fidgeting with a loose string in her pants.
"Fine."
"You can talk to me you know. I won't judge."
She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. "I know," she says, "But I don't know how to put what I'm feeling into words."
"You can scream," Adrien suggests seriously. "Change the pitch and volume and you'll get a bunch of different moods."
Chloe rolls her eyes, but can't fight back the smile forming on her mouth. "Your advice is awful. I'm not gonna scream in a cafe."
"Why not? I do it all the time!" he replies cheerfully, then sits up straight, takes a deep breath, and - "AAAAAAAH-!"
Chloe lunges forwards, stomach pressed against the edge of the table, and shoves a napkin in Adrien's mouth. He immediately chokes, but Chloe's laugh is louder.
"Try to scream now," she teases, and Adrien glares at her, playing along, and lets out a muffled yell. Chloe laughs helplessly, trying to muffle it behind her hand, but the shaking of her shoulders doesn't let up. She giggles through a polite cough aimed at them, and just manages to force it down to a grin as the server places their food and drinks down in front of them.
Adrien can't look the server in the eye. Chloe does, though, without shame, and finds that the server is also holding back laughter. They both break into grins when their eyes meet, then she's hurrying away to the counter again to try to stay professional.
He pulls the napkin out of his mouth and clears his throat. Adrien pointedly looks away from her as he balls it up, then throws it at her.
Chloe shrieks, then retaliates by dipping her finger into the icing on her cinnamon bun and wiping it on his cheek. Adrien, picks up his tea, preparing the throw it, and Chloe puts her hands up in surrender. She ignores his smug smile in favor of actually eating her food, and then focuses only on her food because holy shit that is the best meal she's had in months.
"Adrien," she says, "This makes me want to eat again."
"Wait, what."
"This! It's so good! I want to actually eat food now, because this is so delicious."
Adrien blinks, a little stunned. His face goes through a multitude of expressions, most of them some variation of sad, then nods, expression clearing and a forced smile plastered on his face. "Yeah, I'll only understand if I get to have some."
"Get your own you little thief."
He gasps, acting offended, then turns away from her, saying, "Fine, be that way to your childhood friend." And he bites into his avocado toast like the unironic accidental hipster he is. "I am glad you're feeling a little better now, though," he says, so sincere it hurts.
"Thanks for helping me," Chloe mumbles, ducking her head to avoid meeting his eyes, "Even after everything I've done to you."
"We're friends. We're always going to be friends. It's nothing, really."
There's nothing she can say to that, nothing she can put into words, so she sips her coffee and tries to stop thinking about all her problems in favor of enjoy her morning with Adrien.
If she was straight, she thinks, she really would have fallen in love with him.
But having Adrien as a brother more than anything else is better. Just having in her life is making it better. Thank god he's too stubborn to leave or give up on her. She wouldn't know what she'd do without him.
(Die, some dark voice whispers in the back of her mind, you'd die because he's the only one who wants you around, the only thing that's keeping you from offing yourself. How pathetic you are, to depend on him.)
She bites into her cinnamon bun, just a little savagely, and firmly ignores it.
The rest of their small breakfast is mindless chatter about anything and everything, from When I grow up I'm going to burn all my clothes to fight modeling to You know who I'm really gay for? Ladybug - God, same and some knot of tension that's always been tied tight in her chest finally begins to loosen.
Chloe doesn't want it to end.
She's terrified of it ending, of losing everything, of never being able to get back these precious few minutes where everything feels okay.
When Adrien stands, her heart jumps to her throat and she's stuck in her chair, bolted down the apprehension.
"I'll pay. Be right back," he says, turning away from her.
"No," she says, somehow finding the strength to stand. "I'll pay." And pushes past him, pulling her credit card out from her phone case. The impending goodbye hangs over her head like a noose, and she can't say anything to the cashier, just hands over her card and looks away.
Adrien waits by the door.
But he's looking at her, waiting; he's not in a rush to leave her, get back to the life he's lived without her. He's waiting for her.
When she reaches him, he pulls open the door and holds it for her.
"The rest of my day is free," he says.
The relief that sweeps through Chloe is almost embarrassing. She wants to hug him, thank him again for everything, apologize for everything. Instead she steps out of the cafe, falls in step with him, and asks, "Where to next?"